Gray covered part of his face with one hand, hiding the sly grin creeping across his features.
“You know,” he said, “if Natsu comes back and finds out we’ve already taken part in an S-Class job, his expression is going to be priceless.”
Noah’s eyes immediately lit up.
‘That’s it, Gray.
Exactly like that.
Come on, everyone—there are only three spots.
Fight for them!’
The people gathered around the table reacted at once.
They were exactly the sort who loved watching trouble unfold as long as they were not the ones getting punched, and the thought of Natsu’s reaction clearly appealed to them.
“Hah! He’s right!”
“I can already picture Natsu’s face.”
“This is a perfect chance to rub it in.”
Gray finally broke into loud laughter.
“Wahahaha! All right, count me in! If we run into anything troublesome on the way, leave it to me!”
Noah was delighted.
Gray was delighted too, of course, but Noah was even happier.
He had been hoping Gray would take the bait.
If everything went according to plan, there would be plenty of entertainment waiting for them on Galuna Island.
And if Gray was this eager, surely the others would be—
Noah looked around.
‘Huh?’
Where had everyone gone?
What happened to all that enthusiasm?
Where were the volunteers?
He sidled over to Cana, who had gone back to drinking by herself, and lightly nudged her shoulder.
“Cana, want to come too? I can show you those new cards while we’re there. I guarantee once you see what they can do, you’ll want to buy them.”
“No thanks. I’m afraid if I go with you, I’ll come back too broke to afford alcohol.”
“Really? What a shame. I thought you might want to experience the difference between yourself and an S-Class Mage firsthand.”
Cana fell silent.
Noah took that as his cue to move on.
He walked over to Loke and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“How about you, Loke? Want to come?”
“Nope. I’ve got a date tomorrow.”
Loke rejected him without hesitation.
Noah snorted inwardly.
‘Womanizer.
Keep this up and your kidneys are going to give out someday.’
He turned toward Levy.
“How about you, Levy?”
“What are you trying to do?!” Jet and Droy shouted at the same time.
“Levy’s part of our team!”
Levy thought about it for a moment before answering softly, “I think I’ll pass. An S-Class job is probably still too much for me right now.”
“El—”
Noah stopped himself.
“Huh. Weird. Why did I almost ask Elfman?”
He continued around the guild hall, asking one person after another, but everyone either had something else to do or felt they were not strong enough for an S-Class request.
After all that excitement a moment ago, Noah had genuinely expected these battle-hungry idiots to start fighting over the three available spots.
Instead, they had abandoned him.
‘So this is betrayal.’
Noah looked around at them with deep disappointment.
“You people seriously have no ambition at all. Can you even call yourselves members of Fairy Tail?”
He was offering to personally carry them through an S-Class job and they still refused.
How were they supposed to get stronger with attitudes like that?
“Forget it. Gray, looks like it’s just the two of us.”
Gray nodded.
“When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow.”
The following morning, the coastal city of Hargeon welcomed them beneath a clear sky.
Standing by the shore was a handsome young man with a tall, well-built frame, fiery red hair, and sapphire-blue eyes.
A white magic robe patterned with subtle gold embroidery gave him an understated but unmistakably expensive appearance.
This was Noah, one of the most famous young Mages in Fiore and the prodigy known throughout the magic world as the Sage.
He stood with a map spread between both hands, carefully comparing it with the coastline ahead.
According to the information on the request, if they sailed from here, they could reach Galuna Island in roughly half a day.
There was just one problem.
Noah slowly turned around and looked at the three people standing behind him.
“Why are you two here? Didn’t you say you weren’t coming?”
Behind him stood Gray, dressed in a white jacket and carrying a small travel pack, looking thoroughly eager for the trip.
Next to him was Cana, wearing her usual revealing outfit with a card pouch strapped diagonally at her waist.
She still smelled strongly of alcohol and was, somehow, drinking directly from a bottle even this early in the morning.
And beside them stood Loke.
Noah looked from Cana to Loke.
“I can understand Cana changing her mind, but Loke, didn’t you have a date today? Are you really fine standing some poor girl up?”
Gray gave Loke a puzzled look as well.
“Yeah. And didn’t you get dumped by a Celestial Spirit Mage? I thought you avoided anything connected to Celestial Spirits like the plague.”
“I thought about it after I went home yesterday,” Loke said casually.
“Opportunities to take part in an S-Class job don’t come around often. Dates, on the other hand, can happen whenever. Missing one isn’t a big deal.”
In truth, Loke knew that he did not have much time left.
If possible, he wanted to make sure he knew exactly where that Gold Celestial Spirit Key ended up.
Noah saw through his real motive immediately, but chose not to expose him.
“I see. That really does sound like something you’d say.” Noah nodded knowingly.
“So you really are the legendary womanizer after all.”
“Hey, I’m not a womanizer,” Loke protested.
“I just happen to have a very rich emotional life.”
“Of course you do.”
Noah then turned toward Cana with a bright smile.
“And Cana~ You really did come because you want to see what those new cards can do, didn’t you?”
An unusual mix of embarrassment and irritation flashed across Cana’s face.
“Stop looking at me like that! I just want to see what an S-Class job is actually like!”
Gray glanced between Cana and Loke, then smiled with complete confidence.
“They’re obviously here for the same reason I am. This is our chance to experience an S-Class job, and once we’ve done it, Natsu will be the only one among us who hasn’t.”
“Hahaha… exactly! Exactly!”
Noah nearly laughed for an entirely different reason.
Gray really was the only idiot among them.
Did he seriously believe Cana and Loke would knowingly break guild rules just because they wanted bragging rights over Natsu?
“Exactly,” Loke said with a grin as he exchanged a look with Gray. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“Just imagine how frustrated Natsu’s going to be.”
“Wahahaha!”
The two of them burst out laughing together.
Cana shook her head.
“You two are so childish.”
“Seriously,” Noah agreed solemnly.
“Hopelessly childish. You should both learn to be a little more mature, like me.”
He paused.
“Although… you do have a point. Natsu’s definitely going to lose his mind when he finds out, and there won’t be a thing he can do about it.”
“Wahahaha!”
Now there were three of them laughing together.
Cana’s eyebrow twitched.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Unable to tolerate them any longer, she punched all three on the head.
“Are you done laughing yet? If we don’t leave soon, I’m going home.”
Noah rubbed the sore spot on his head.
‘Ow… Cana really has developed.
Even her punches hit harder now.’
“All right, all right. Let’s get moving. I wasn’t expecting you two to show up, but I was planning to bring three people from the beginning anyway.”
Noah stepped to the edge of the water and raised one hand.
Magic power surged around him.
“Word Magic: Creation—Sailboat!”
A dazzling Magic Circle nearly five meters across appeared over the surface of the sea.
Above it, blocks of shimmering light materialized in midair like pieces of a mosaic.
One after another, they fitted themselves together, gradually taking the shape of a full-sized sailboat.
Once the final section locked into place, the completed vessel dropped gently onto the sea with a heavy splash.
Gray and Loke stared.
“Oh! That’s amazing!”
The spell was nothing special by Noah’s standards, but both of them were impressed nonetheless.
“No matter how many times I see your magic,” Gray said, “it’s ridiculously convenient.”
“Right?” Noah replied proudly.
“I think so too. With this ability, making whatever I need is basically effortless.”
Loke suddenly froze.
“Hm? Wait… with that kind of magic, couldn’t you…?”
Whatever filthy thought had entered his head immediately made his expression turn strangely excited.
A second later, he looked at Noah with newfound awe.
“Ahhh… you really are an evil man.”
Noah stared at him.
“?”
Gray looked at the newly created ship again.
“For the same general kind of Make Magic, yours is way more ridiculous than mine.”
Noah lifted his chin proudly.
“Obviously.”
End of Chapter 7